Securing Secrets with Azure Key Vault

Introduction

Azure Key Vault is a cloud service that provides a secure store for secrets, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and cryptographic keys. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of securing secrets using Azure Key Vault with .NET.

Setting Up Azure Key Vault

First, you need to set up an Azure Key Vault in your Azure subscription.

// Step 1: Go to the Azure portal: https://portal.azure.com/
// Step 2: Click on 'Create a resource' and search for 'Key Vault'
// Step 3: Click on 'Create' and fill in the necessary details to create a new Key Vault
// Step 4: Once the Key Vault is created, go to the 'Access policies' section and set up access policies for your application

Adding Secrets to Azure Key Vault

Next, add secrets to your Key Vault that you want to secure.

// Step 1: Navigate to your Key Vault in the Azure portal
// Step 2: Click on 'Secrets' in the left-hand menu
// Step 3: Click on 'Generate/Import' to add a new secret
// Step 4: Enter the name and value of the secret and click 'Create'

Accessing Secrets from .NET Application

To access secrets from your .NET application, you need to install the Azure Key Vault NuGet packages and set up authentication.

// Step 1: Open your .NET project in Visual Studio
// Step 2: Install the following NuGet packages:
// - Azure.Identity
// - Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets

// Use the NuGet Package Manager Console or the command line:
// Install-Package Azure.Identity
// Install-Package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets

using System;
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;

public class KeyVaultService
{
    private readonly SecretClient _client;

    public KeyVaultService()
    {
        var keyVaultUrl = "https://.vault.azure.net/";
        _client = new SecretClient(new Uri(keyVaultUrl), new DefaultAzureCredential());
    }

    public string GetSecret(string secretName)
    {
        KeyVaultSecret secret = _client.GetSecret(secretName);
        return secret.Value;
    }
}

Using Secrets in Your Application

Now that you have configured the Key Vault service, you can use the secrets in your application.

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var keyVaultService = new KeyVaultService();
        var secretValue = keyVaultService.GetSecret("MySecretName");

        Console.WriteLine($"Secret Value: {secretValue}");
    }
}

Managing Secrets

Azure Key Vault provides several options for managing secrets, including versioning, disabling, and deleting secrets.

// Retrieve all versions of a secret
var secretVersions = _client.GetPropertiesOfSecretVersions("MySecretName");
foreach (var version in secretVersions)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Secret version: {version.Version}");
}

// Disable a specific secret version
_client.UpdateSecretProperties(new KeyVaultSecret("MySecretName", "MySecretValue")
{
    Properties = { Enabled = false }
});

// Delete a secret
_client.StartDeleteSecret("MySecretName");

Monitoring and Logging

Use Azure Monitor and Azure Key Vault logs to monitor and audit access to your secrets.

// Step 1: Go to your Key Vault in the Azure portal
// Step 2: Click on 'Diagnostics settings' under 'Monitoring'
// Step 3: Add a diagnostic setting to send logs to Log Analytics, Event Hub, or Storage Account

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to secure secrets using Azure Key Vault, including setting up the Key Vault, adding and accessing secrets from a .NET application, managing secrets, and setting up monitoring and logging.